Coming Home to Nature

 

After a long, blustery (and snowy!) winter, spring is a welcome change!

Despite our best intentions, the truth is that many of us have spent the majority of the last few months indoors--snuggly content to sip on hot cocoa, surf the net or indulge in a good book.

But now, with spring's arrival, many of us are finally venturing outdoors--rediscovering the world of nature we have been missing and the happiness that comes from being in touch with the natural world.  From the early morning calls of the Eastern Phoebe, to the scampering of squirrels still fat from their dormant winter to the delicate fuzzy buds forming on the Old Hickory tree here at ALNC, simple moments of happiness are all around for those of us who love the out of doors. Here is a quote from Jerry Wibler's book, Wit & Wisdom of the Great Outdoors, that does a great job of explaining this phenomenon:

"Happiness, for us, is a springtime full moon (though a half will do) wrapped in early mist and ribboned with an owl's hoot. Happiness, for us, is Mariah, the wind, arranging gray and white clouds above needled pines, long peaceful nights lit with heartbreak halfmoons, symphonies of loons riding low in the water, and the rumble of thunder on a hot summer's night. Happiness, for us, is sassy streams on a hot summer's night. Happiness, for us, is sassy streams somersaulting through forests deep, dancing wild flowers and wandering tribes of butterflies. For us life is tasted, touched, smelled, felt, seen and savored, and that my friend is downright happiness."

 Now, get outdoors and enjoy this sunshine!

Wonder Bugs Wednesday!

Happy Spring!

I thought I would share a song that you can sing  around the house  to celebrate (and  perhaps encourage nature to be a bit more forthcoming with spring weather)!  Be creative and  while you are out exploring with your wonder bug, add your own verses and keep on singing! For example you could add  this line, "the wind will start to blow." Then make your own kite out of newspaper and newspaper bags and go outside  and fly it! Emma and I  are excited  to try this again in warmer weather (see pics).

    When Spring Comes Rolling In! 

(Tune:  "When The Saints Come Marching In")

    Oh when spring, comes rolling in,
    Oh when spring, comes rolling in,
    The Bee's will all start to buzz,
    When spring comes rolling in.

    Oh when spring, comes rolling in,
    Oh when spring, comes rolling in,
    The tree's will all start to bloom,
    When spring comes rolling in.

    Oh when spring, comes rolling in,
    Oh when spring, comes rolling in,
    The rain will start to fall,
    When  spring comes rolling in. 

Sing loud and proud,

Miss Tara

Next Wonder  Bugs  Program:
MUD PIES IN THE SKIES
9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, April 5th OR Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 1st, 2011
 
As the ground begins to thaw we will dig and we will draw. There is more to soil than meets the eye. Come learn about fun critters that live in the mud. We’ll play and sing until we say bye-bye.Click here to register!

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members

What A Sweet Success!

Yesterday was our 13th Annual Maple Syrup Festival here at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center and a great time was had by all!  The spring sunshine cut the chill in the air and made for a beautiful afternoon of learning all about Maple Syrup!

Click here to see more photos from the event!

A huge thank you to everyone who came out for Maple Syrup Fest 2011 and the event partners, media partners, in-kind donors, staff and volunteers who helped make the day a sweet success!

Sneak Preview of Maple Syrup Fest

Check it out - a sneak preview of all the fun at Maple Syrup Fest this Sunday, from 1-3 at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center.


Hope to see you there!

Wonder Bugs -- Sweet Home Wisconsin!

We live in such a yummy state! Tart cranberries, fresh honey and sweet maple syrup are all made right here in Wisconsin! 

We had fun churning our own butter this week; why don’t you try it at home? Click here for step by step instructions! Have a race to see who can “churn” the fastest! (You can also subscribe (like I do) to this site to get regular emails with earth-friendly tips and articles.)

Make your own maple-syrup candy and read this book (Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall) about maple syruping! We checked this book out from the library. Emma is really fascinated with the story and has us read it to her every day. 

Make your own sewing cards at home! Here’s how: First, draw or print a design on paper or cardstock. Next glue (a thin layer of roll-on glue works best) that to another piece of cardstock or light-weight cardboard. Cut around the design in any shape you want and then punch holes around the design with a hole-punch. Finally, cut a length of yarn and thread it through a large darning needle or your own pipe cleaner needle.  Voila!  TO being sewing, attach the yarn at any place along the card. Especially for the youngest wonder bugs you should allow them to stitch in any manner they choose such as across the design for example.  (For the pipe cleaner needle cut a pipe cleaner into thirds. Take one piece, fold it in half, and twist the ends together until you have a needle shape. Insert the thread and continue lightly twisting to cinch the yarn in place.)

Sweet dreams!

Miss Tara

Sweeten your maple syrup knowledge by attending Maple Syrup Fest this Sunday, or by reading these books:
Sugaring by Jessie Haas

Maple Syrup Cookbook: 100 Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner by Ken Haedrich

Maple Syrup Season by Ann Purmell

Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky

Maple Moon by Connie Brummel Crook

Next Wonder Bugs: Mud Pies in the Skies!

9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, April 5th OR Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Registration Deadline: Friday, April 1st, 2011

As the ground begins to thaw we will dig and we will draw. There is more to soil than meets the eye. Come learn about fun critters that live in the mud. We’ll play and sing until we say bye-bye.

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members
Registration Form 

We're Painting in the Rain!

The rain is pouring and isn't showing any signs of slowing down! 

If you can't "beat 'em, join 'em" and make the most of the day with this fun Batik rain painting idea! 

Materials

• Paper plate (uncoated)
• Food coloring

• White crayon

Instructions

1. Sprinkle a few drops of food coloring on a paper plate.
   
2. Get into rain gear and walk outdoors with the plate for about a minute and watch as artistic designs appear.
   
3. Next, for a batik effect, try drawing a white crayon design on a new plate. Then add some food coloring and head out.
   
   
   
   

A Sweet Start to Spring!

Spring is just around the corner and the sap is flowing in the Sugar Bush, which can only mean one thing - it is time for the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's Annual Maple Syrup Fest!

Join us for the event this Sunday, March 27, from 1- 3 pm, to satisfy your sweet tooth and spend a delightful afternoon outdoors with your friends and family!

The fun includes:
•    Pioneer demonstrations in The Children's Shack
•    Native American re-enactments in a tepee
•    Hikes in the Sugar Bush
•    Maple Syrup taste tests
•    Sap boiling over a roaring campfire
•    Maple Syrup Ice Cream Sundaes and much more!

ALNC Members: $6/person or $20/family; Non-Members: $7/person or $25/family


Maple Syrup Fest is a sweet way to start the spring season - click here or call 608-221-0404 x1 to reserve your spot today!  

Let The Sun Shine!

Well, the sun is finally shining and that snow is melting like crazy here at ALNC. The trees are tapped, maple syrupping programs are in full swing and Maple Syrup Fest is only eight short days away! 

In celebration of this much welcomed spring sunshine, we've posted our first (albeit 2 days early!) photo album of Spring. Here is a quick preview-- click here to see the full album.

In other news, there are only 2 weeks left to vote for ALNC to win Heartland Credit Union's "Go Local Contest" and the $10,000 prize to support our expansion project.  Remember, you can vote once a day, everyday until April 3.  Click here to vote today!

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb?

Looking out at the gray sky today, it's easy to forget that underneath that mud, the earth is waking up! But  take heart, spring is on its way! 

As the days get longer and the ice on the pond begins to melt, little green buds will soon appear on the maple trees and before you know it, our woodland friends will be out and about with their little ones!

For now though, turn this blustery March weather into a teachable moment for you and your family.  It's the perfect time to talk about weather! Here's a great idea from our friends at Nature Net--make a Lion and Lamb calendar!

First, talk to your children about what the saying "In like a lion, out like a lamb" might mean. What aspects of weather determine whether it is ferocious or gentle? List elements of weather like temperature, wind, rain, snow, etc. that describe each. Now, make lion and lamb drawings, cut outs, crafts or clip photographs of each from magazines.

Choose a particular time of day (right before lunch or supper are good times as it will help engage and include the children in dinnertime conversation). Each day from now until the end of March, at the given time, have your child adhere the appropriate lamb or lion artwork on a calendar grid.

You can also add a bit of math and graphing practice by drawing a two column table with one side "Lion" and one side "Lamb". Have your child color one of the squares on either the lion or the lamb side (depending on what the weather is like) each day. And of course, you can add a bit of science and observation skills by recording the daily temperature. Click here for a Lion and Lamb graph template.

Does your calendar begin with a Lion and end with a Lamb? Is March more lion- or lamb-like? Are you surprised at your results? What do you think will happen next year?

For more hands-on fun, click here to make lion and lamb crafts!

Spring is Winging it's Way to ALNC!

Spring to Your Senses

Scavenger Hunt

It will officially be spring in only six days!! Get geared up for spring with a spring nature walk and scavenger hunt! Click here to download a copy of this checklist! Take a spring nature walk. As you walk, look all around you.  Look low deep in the dirt and high in the trees--what do you see? Try to find the following things. As you find them, check them of the list. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to find everything, but see how many you can find.

  Things to find/see:

☐ A tree with blossoms on it

      What color are they?___________

☐ A tree with new leaves

☐ A tiny wildflower

      What color is it?_______________

☐  A taller wildflower

      What color is it?_______________

☐ A weed
☐ Two things that are different

      shades of green
☐ An ant
☐A bee
☐ A worm
☐ A bird
☐ A bird’s nest
☐ Something moving in the breeze
☐Some mud

  Things to feel:

☐ Something warm from the sun
☐ Something cool in the shade
☐ Something moist or wet
☐ Something soft or smooth
☐ Something rough
☐ A flower petal
      How does it feel?_______________

  Things to smell:

☐A wildflower

☐ The grass

  Things to hear:

☐ The wind rustling the leaves or grass
☐ A bird chirping
☐ Water running
☐ A frog or toad

Maple Syrup Fest

It's Maple Syrup Fest time! 

Join us at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center for a unique and exciting experience. Maple Syrup Fest is a family-style festival to celebrate spring and learn all about maple syrup and the history of this age-old tradition. 

This year's Maple Syrup Fest will feature ten stations set throughout the Nature Center grounds that will lead visitors, at their own pace, through the history of maple syruping and related craft and activities. Naturalists will tap the maple trees on the Nature Center grounds and collect sap in buckets to make the syrup. See the sap boil over a roaring fire as it concentrates into "liquid gold". When the sap is boiled, the sap's naturally occurring water evaporates as steam, leaving the sap and its sweetness to concentrate into maple syrup.

Come enjoy all of these activities:

Tap and Taste real Maple Tree Sap

Test your "Nature Smarts" with Maple Syrup Trivia
Increase your Knowledge of Trees with "Build-A-Tree" Game!
Learn from a Real "Tapper" how Maple Syrup is made Today and the Old-Fashioned Way!
Tour the Rustic Children's Shack
Take part in Cooking Demonstrations with Early Pioneer Settler Women
Enjoy Ice Cream Sundaes topped with Pure Maple Syrup! 

So join us for

Maple Syrup Fest

Sunday, March 27, 2011
1-3pm

Monona Campus

Members: $6/person or $20/Family
Non-Members: $7/person or $25/family

Wonder Bugs Wednesday - Fox Trot!

Here's a foxy read for you!

Wild dogs like foxes are so much fun! And the snow last night and this morning made playing like foxes a super blast. I don’t know if the wonder bugs or myself had more fun being chased!  Even despite a couple of glitches each day (not enough copies or fox paws for example) the days went well from my perspective. Did you have any favorite moments that you would like to share? Or perhaps you have some fun pictures of Wonder Bugs acting like foxes. Would you like to share them? Please email me!

Below you will find some online resources and a couple of books to keep the fox-learning going at home.

Take care, 

Miss Tara

Check out the National Geographic website for more pictures and facts about Red Fox. Then, search around for other foxes the world over!

EEK! is another website with a lot of great information geared towards kids. If you look under the “Cool Stuff” button you can find great ideas for activities and crafts.

And here's another one for you!

Want to keep pretending that you are foxes? Click here for fox mask and tail templates!  Have one person make and wear bunny ears and the fox can chase the bunny. 

Foxy Books to Read

Red Fox Running by Eve Bunting

The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by Peter Spier       

Emma and I found this at the library once upon a time. She loved reading it, and we had fun singing the song, too.

What’s next? Sweet Home Wisconsin on 

Tuesday/Wednesday March 22/23.   

What makes Wisconsin so sweet? Come to this lesson and learn about making maple syrup and brewing tea. See what it was like to live like a pioneer. Love the seasons and nature, Wisconsin style!

Summer Camp Registration is Now Open for Members!

The Wait is Over! Summer Camp Registration is Now Open For Members at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center! Non-Member Registration Begins Friday, March 18th!
 

Click here for full camp details & registration information!

ALNC's summer camps will make your summer planning a snap!

There are more than 100 sessions to choose from at ALNC (from half day to full-week options), designed for children ages 2-12, located conveniently at our Monona Campus. Register early to get your youngster geared up for a summer full of fun - and learning!

 

In exciting camps like "Happy Campers", "Muckin' in the Marsh" and "Where the Wild Things Are", your young naturalist will have a blast discovering the joy and wonders of nature.

Don't Delay - Click Here For Online Registration!! ALNC member registration is now open and members save 10% off their total summer camp registration!   Not a member? Click here to become one starting at only $35 and get these other great benefits:   Discounts and advance registration on family programs, summer camps, and more! Discounted admittance to special events like Maple Syrup Fest (March 27) and FREE admission to Fall Fest (a $35 value)! Free rental of our Family Trailside Backpack Program! Subscription to The Pine Cone, ALNC's printed newsletter! Exciting volunteer opportunities for you and family! Click here for full camp details & registration information!

Wonder Bugs Wednesdays (On a Friday!) - Whoo loves owls?

Are you still hooting over owls? I sure am!  Check out this 7 minute video that depicts Saw Whet owls at Woodland Dunes Nature Center in Manitowoc County.  I am going to keep an eye open for their 2011 Owl Fest so that my family and I can get up close with Saw Whet owls. You should put it on your list of fun things to do, too!           

If you really want to become involved and learn more about the owls found in Wisconsin, consider becoming part of this year’s owl survey. You could become a wonderful source of owl information for your wonder bug’s curious nature.

Want to see real-life owl photos? Click here!

Check out this classic story for a fun, surprising read: Good-Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins ISBN-13: 978-0-689-71371-2  It will have you hooting with delight! 

Until next time,

Miss Tara

What’s Next?  Fox Trot!
9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, March 8th OR Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but around here it’s the fox you have to look out for. Join us for a fascinating foxy adventure!
Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members
 
Also, be sure to join us for Leopold Discovery Day tomorrow!!